EDINBURGH 2000
After the excellent times of 1999, a backlash was inevitable (Thank you, Miss Leather). But the good stuff was: there were excellent comedians, perhaps even better that previous years (and that's saying a lot). Prizewinners galore: no 2000 Perrier nominee (but if the shows hadn't clashed, there would have been at least one) but the winner of the BBC stand-up award and the winner of So You Think You're Funny, and numerous others, including many who have won prizes in the past and others who don't need a prize to know they're funny. I think the overall standard was the highest yet, even allowing for the fact that many excellent comedians wanted to play but couldn't, either because their shows clashed or they weren't in Edinburgh this year. To all who performed, many thanks. To all who wanted to perform but couldn't, thanks for wanting. Sadly, only two now have played it in all five years. We inducted 31 virgins this year plus one half-virgin and one non-virgin who was accidentally left off the roll of honour (or is it the scroll of shame?) from previous years. The full listing can be obtained by clicking here.
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But there were down sides. I'm still fuming that the fringe programme printed the details wrong, and I know from conversations that this stopped some people from coming. And the start time of 7.35 wasn't ideal, either; many people use that time to eat, and see shows later. Last year we had a 9.30 start and full audiences throughout; this year, we had much lower audiences at an earlier time. This means that the same quality of comedy gets far fewer laughs, and what could have been a storming show is instead received with polite giggles. This discourages the comedians, and I hope I haven't lost the goodwill of these excellent comics for future years. We also had problems with two private parties who came for something else and killed the show by talking loudly and rudely all the way through it. The Fiscal's Office should be ashamed of itself. They're supposed to be educated, civilised lawyers. They behaved like arseholes. |
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Bad luck, also, in the afternoon. Lizzie Wynn (Peter's daughter) had to leave after the first week, the most difficult one, to look after an ailing mother; we ran with substitute organisers at short notice, and thanks to everybody who stepped in. But this naturally led to more confusion that we'd have liked, and also to a show which was perhaps too biased towards stand-up and poetry and had too few visual and musical shows in it. Nevertheless, not a complete failure, but Lizzie would have done better had she been able to stay.
ONE MAN AND HIS FROG went on in a quiet way at Christie's (which had also changed its name since the programme was published, in addition to the wrong details being printed anyway, thus making it virtually impossible to find) and I enjoyed doing it immensely. No reviews (none of the shows was reviewed) but I enjoyed it and I hope those who came did. They seemed to.
Well, what about 2001? People have been calling me a Fringe institution, and saying I must come in 2001.
But actually I lost more than £3000 on this year (average collection was about 30p per head, which is not a great deal). Next year, I will be
happy to arrange the show, or the same 3 shows as this year, but the financial arrangements have to be
different; ideally, there should be some form of business sponsorship. PBH And Some Comedians is not only the only show of its
type on the Fringe; it's also usually a better bill of comedy than many you'd pay £8 or more for at other
venues. I'll also want to go back to the traditional 9.30 start time, when people are more in a
comedy mood. So these are the things that are needed to make 2001 happen. I hope it does. In the face of
massive price increases (and you must realise that none of this money finds its way into the pockets of the
comedians themselves) it's important to KEEP FREE COMEDY ALIVE at the Edinburgh Fringe, and thus
help to keep THE SPIRIT OF THE FRINGE alive.
Keep revisiting this site for details; news will be posted as soon as known.
Oh, and guess who did one performance FOR EVERY YEAR OF HIS LIFE (52) at Fringe 2000?
23 PBHASC, 14 One Man and His Frog, 4 slots in the afternoon show, 3 Princes St Gardens, 2 Scruffy Murphy's, 2 Scot FM, 2 Fiscal & Firkin,
1 Fringe Sunday, 1 Late'n'Live. Quite proud of this fact.
